From Bottom to Top
Today’s scripture selection: Genesis 40-43
Key verse: Genesis 41:39
Joseph, the dreamer, had a roller coaster of a life. Read his story in Genesis and it can make your head spin.
From being his father’s favorite son; to being sold into slavery; then to living in royal splendor; to being falsely accused of rape and thrown in prison; then not only released, but returned to great power and prestige. Whew!
But what the scriptures are careful to point out is that whether Joseph was at the bottom or on top of the world – he trusted in God.
It seems that from the beginning to the end God had great plans for this young man. And, those plans had to do not just with his personal success – but with the future of a chosen people.
How many of us can say that whether we are momentarily prospering or failing, we are sure God is at work in our lives?
Invite God into your daily plans – even those which seem to go horribly wrong. Remember what a powerful Pharaoh said to a young dreamer once:
“Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you.”
Life may not always run smoothly – in fact it rarely does. But when your decisions are guided by the loving, watchful eye of God – how far wrong can they go?
Prayer: Lord, whatever my circumstances, and whatever the questions, may I always turn to you for the answers. AMEN.
By Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
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IGW3 - In God's Word, In God's Will, In God's Work 